This portion of the alt.horror.cthulhu FAQ was brought to you by Donovan K. Loucks
(webmaster@hplovecraft.com).

Besides motion pictures and games, Lovecraft has crept into many other
areas of entertainment, including television shows, radio, books on tape,
music, and comic books.

Q: What radio shows have included Lovecraft or the
Mythos?

A: Before Lovecraft’s tales were adapted for the screen, they were
dramatised on radio.

“The Mark Ratcliffe show” on Radio1 FM, UK

‘Joolz’ narrates the story “Cool Air” in Spring 1994

“Quiet Please” (1948)

Lovecraft mentioned in one episode

“Suspense” (1945)

Radio adaptation of “The Dunwich Horror”

“Thriller”

Radio adaptation of “Pigeons from Hell” by Robert Howard (PFH was
included in ‘Cthulhu: The mythos and kindred horrors,’ and thus the radio
reading is included here)

“The Young Man of Providence” on BBC Radio 4, UK

1 hour documentary about Lovecraft and his creation, broadcast in UK
some years ago. Spooky sound effects and short quotes from various
stories. Cthulhoid quotes rendered in a gutteralised accent, which worked
surprisingly well. It may still be stashed away in the BBC sound
archives.

This is a radio-show-like dramatization set in the 1940’s, as opposed to a
literal reading of the story. Also includes Brad Linaweaver’s “The
Competitor.”

The Call of Cthulhu

Media:

Tape

Read By:

Garrick Hagon

Company:

Landfall Productions

Cost:

#3.99

The Dunwich Horror

Year:

1973

Media:

Album

Time:

0:59

Read By:

David McCallum

Company:

Caedmon

The Dunwich Horror and The Rats in the Walls

Year:

1987

Media:

Tape

Time:

0:59 and
1:06

Read By:

David McCallum

Company:

Caedmon

Two tape set, 1 story per tape. DH same as that on album.

Fungi From Yuggoth

Media:

Tape

Time:

1:00

Read By:

John Arthur

Company:

Fedogan & Bremer

The “Fungi From Yuggoth” reading can be ordered for $11.00 total (S&H
included) from Fedogan & Bremer. I consider it to be the second best of
the Lovecraft tapes available, “The Thing on the Doorstep” narrowly being
first.

There are more tapes in this series, which include Lovecraft’s
“Pickman’s Model” and Derleth’s “House - with Ghost” and “The Dark
Boy.”

Roddy McDowell Reads the Horror Stories of H.P.
Lovecraft

Year:

196?

Media:

Album

Read By:

Roddy McDowell

Stories currently unknown.

Tales of the Unnatural

Media:

Tape

Time:

1:00

Read By:

A. J. Redelsperger, Meaghan
McCarville, and Stan Winiarski

Company:

Buckingham Classics, Ltd.

Two stories, “Burgerland” by Aron Abrams and “The Cave” by Vicki
Hendrickson are followed by Lovecraft’s “The Rats in the Walls.” The
first stories are poor at best, and the narrators often stumble over their
lines. The Lovecraft story suffers from being abridged, and what remains
of it is read at top speed. I also noticed that at no time is the cat,
“NiggerMan,” referred to by name.

The Thing on the Doorstep

Media:

Tape

Time:

1:10:22

Read By:

Jay Gregory

Company:

Voice At Work, Inc. (see “Jay
Gregory”)

Price:

$15

The full title of the tape is “The Lovecraft Tapes, stories by H. P.
Lovecraft, Vol. I, ‘The Thing on the Doorstep’.” I consider this the best
of the Lovecraft tapes available, and hope to see more volumes.

The Thing on the Doorstep

Media:

Tape

Read By:

David Healy

Music By:

Colin Purbrook

Company:

Landfall Productions

Part No.:

RSJ 5004

Cost:

#3.99

Q: What music is available where the band, or song title, or
lyrics make reference to Lovecraft or the Mythos?

A: Although it would seem that Lovecraft’s influence has crept into
many musical works, it might be more correct to say that many of these
works were inspired more by the hoax Necronomicons. An excellent
article on Lovecraft-inspired music is Allen Mackey’s “Disciples of Zann,”
which appeared in the Eastertide 1995 issue (number 89) of Crypt of
Cthulhu.

“Les Invisibles” – The reference to “beneath the polar mountain” may
be a reference to Lovecraft’s _At the Mountains of Madness_. Also, the
lyrics “the empress lay sleeping to the rhyme of the star clock” may refer
to the return of the Great Old Ones.

“In the Presence of Another World” – The phrase “when the stars are
right” is spoken.

Manilla Road – Heavy metal with many Lovecraftian references
throughout. [It is not known which albums the following songs can be
found on: “The Black Cauldron,” “Return of the Old Ones,” “War in
Heaven,” “From Beyond,” and “The Book of Skelos.”]

Out of the Abyss (1988)

“Out of the Abyss”

The Courts of Chaos (1990)

Mekong Delta

The Music of Erich Zann

Mercyful Fate

Time (1994)

“The Mad Arab (Part One: The Vision)”

Into the Unknown (1996)

“Kutulu (The Mad Arab Part Two)”

Metallica

Master of Puppets

“The Thing That Should Not Be”

Ride the Lightning

“The Call of Ktulu” – Instrumental

Morbid Angel – Lead guitarist and only remaining founding
member, Trey Azagthoth, claims that most of their music is inspired by the
Simon edition of the Necronomicon.

“La Musique D’Erich Zann” – The liner notes describe it as “a
collective improvisation inspired by a short story by H.P. Lovecraft.”
It’s actually a bit boring and monotonous when compared to the sort of
music that story should inspire.

The Vaselines

The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History

“Lovecraft”

White Flag

Feeding Frenzy (1986) – Cthulhu’s name is mentioned in a song
title.

Yog-Sothoth – Insane, French, free-form Jazz band; similar to
what one might expect from Erich Zann.

Q: What music do players of Call of Cthulhu recommend as
background music to add to the eerie mood of the game?

A: Of course, this varies from Keeper to Keeper, but there are some
pieces that many agree on. Editor’s note: I was deluged
with music posts and e-mails... For my sanity and timeliness, I stopped
including new ones... If anyone else wants to archive them and send me a
formatted copy, fine. Otherwise, the below list will have to do.

A: There are a surprising number of Lovecraftian tales that have
been adapted for comic books.

Chamber of Darkness, Number 5 (June, 1970) - Includes “The Music From
Beyond,” adapted from “The Music of Erich Zann.” The comic is very
faithful to the original story, being a period piece set in Paris.

Creepy

#21 (July, 1968) - “The Rats in the Walls”

#113 - Includes “Cool Air,” illustrated by Berni Wrightson.

Eerie #13 (February 1968) - “Wentworth’s Day”

From the Pit (Fantagor Press)

#1? (1994) - “The Rats in the Walls”

H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu: The Whisperer in Darkness (Millenium
Publications, Inc.) - This series follows a group of investigators, the
Miskatonic Project, in their Lovecraftian adventures. This series is also
collected together as a single graphic novel.

Part One (December, 1991) - Includes “Cthulhu” and “Cthulhu Statue”
trading cards.

Part Two (March, 1992) - Includes “Hastur” and “Mi-Go” trading
cards.

Part Three (May, 1992) - Includes “Yig, Father of Serpents” and
“Quachil Uttaus” trading cards.

H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu: The Festival (Millenium Publications, Inc.)
- This series continues the adventures of the Miskatonic Project.

Re-Animator: Tales of Herbert West (Malibu Graphics Publishing Group)
- This book is a collection of the 6 “Herbert West – Reanimator” tales by
Lovecraft. It is not really a comic book, although it has a few
illustrations throughout. It also includes an introduction by Steven
Philip Jones, the editor.

Q: What fun merchandise can I get which is neither game
related, nor a book/magazine?

A: The following companies produce stuff such as mugs, shirts,
stuffed Cthulhu dolls, buttons, etc. Their merchandise is listed in their
catalogs. Info on getting those catalogs follows (all addresses are in
the “General” section, under the address question).

Chaosium - In addition to game related materials, they have
shirts/sweatshirts (Miskatonic U, Call of Cthulhu), posters, mugs, and
book covers. Snail mail them for a catalog.

Dark House Publishing - In addition to game related material, they
have t-shirts, and assorted interesting Lovecraft and Mythos
paraphernalia. Snail mail them ($1) for a catalog.

Pagan Publishing - In addition to game related materials, they have
the now famous stuffed Cthulhu doll! E-mail them for a
catalog.

Wizard’s Attic - “A new mail-order outlet for mystic collectibles and
limited edition books.” They have gotten the rights from Chaosium to
produce and sell some interesting items, including M. U. sweatshirts and
“Dark Themes From Beyond: Where Evil Lurks” (first of three planned horror
music CD’s).